Finish Your Thesis Program Week 2: Roadmap Module 2 · 29.03.2016 · Organize your data in one place. Aim for simplicity: Google docs (can upload Excel sheets and files in any format)

by Dora Farkas, Ph.D. Founder, Finish Your Thesiswww.FinishYourThesis.com

Module 2

Finish Your Thesis ProgramWeek 2: Roadmap

● Ph.D. Candidate at Jonkoping International Business School in Sweden

● Final stages of Ph.D. thesis review/preparing for defense

● Two job offers for professorships in business management

● Quang will share the process he used to go from rough draft to final thesis

Guest Speaker on April 5th Webinar

Quang Evansluong

● Questions

● 5 Elements of Thesis Proposal/Thesis

● Action Plan Based on Long-Term Goals

● Planning Your Publications in Advance

● Q&A

Outline of Today’s Presentation

{ }1 Questions

● How do I get organized with the overwhelming information I have? I particularly have difficulty with literature review, I have so many articles plus the RSS alerts on my thesis topic but I seldom get time to read the papers right away. Eventually the pile of reading these papers gets bigger and bigger before I can get to it.

Be very intentional with your time and scope of research before you start reading

● Are you trying to cover too much information?● Get clarity on your scope and discuss with supervisor ● Create outline/structure for your literature review● Save articles electronically or physically in separate folders● Use Cornell method for note-taking for each specific section

Question

Thank you Adrienne!

Google Docs template for the Cornell Method

https://goo.gl/L7om90



● I have difficulty with organization of data. I prefer hand-written entries of my day to day experiments. My data are in several formats including excel sheets and graphpad files.

● How do I organize my handwritten notes along with data in a same place? Is there any apps or ways to get organized on this?

● Another concern is my experiments are 10-12 hours long. The data obtained from these experiments takes about a week to months to analyze. I have planned my schedule in a way that I will do experiments 3 days a week and analyze data 2days a week, yet I am unable to catch up on my data analysis. If I do not progress on my data analysis, I cannot progress on my experiments. Sometimes, I feel like I am making circles on same place. How to stay on top of the literature review as well as experiments?

Question

● Organize your data in one place. Aim for simplicity:○ Google docs (can upload Excel sheets and files in any format)○ Evernote - use it to keep all you data in one place https://evernote.

com/community/guides/10-ways-to-get-organized-with-evernote.pdf○ Check if your files integrate with Google docs or any other online tool

● To catch up on the cycle of experiments/data analysis○ Can you save time by making lit search/data analysis more efficient?○ Can you get help? (undergraduate, other grad student)○ Can you narrow the scope of your research?○ What are the questions you are trying to answer?

● Sometimes slowing down actually speeds things up - counterintuitive but it it is true!

Recommendations

Were you ever able to speed things up by “slowing down” in any area of your life?

● What is your recommendation for filling out the planning sheet for Module 2? I don’t know what career I want to follow, so I am not sure what to put for my “vision”?

You don’t have to have a plan for your career to create a vision

● Keep your vision simple: (what is the next step)○ Finished thesis/chapter○ Completed data analysis/experiments○ Networking/interviewing to find jobs

● I will walk you through the process of creating a long-term plan today

Question

{ }2Top 5 Elements of a Thesis Proposal

Graduate School

Why is Your Thesis Proposal So Important?

● Your thesis proposal is the Blueprint for your thesis● Determine the course of your research (life) for next

few years● Establishes marketable skills and expertise● Research is unpredictable:

○ Want to avoid high risk theses○ Have a back-up plan

Why is Your Thesis Proposal So Important?

● An area that you are excited about● Choose a supervisor who is a good fit:

○ Your personality (hands-on / hands-off) ● Ask well-defined, open-ended questions

○ Avoid high-risk (yes/no) theses● A Topic that can be completed with available resource● Have at least one backup plans

Top 5 Elements of a Successful Thesis Proposal

● An area that you are excited about● Choose a Supervisor Who is a Good Fit:




● Do you remember why you entered graduate school?● Reminding yourself of the big picture can be very

motivating:○ How does your research contribute to your field?○ What impact will your research have on society?

● With the day-to-day challenges, we frequently miss the forest from the trees

Are You Excited About Your Thesis Topic?

How do You Stay Organized and Excited?

● Evernote.com, free version or $5/$10 versions● One workspace to:

○ Write your ideas or lengthy papers○ Collect information (articles/handwritten notes)○ Find tool: makes it easy to find everything○ Transform your work into presentation slides

● Paid plans include enhanced search features and collaboration with coworkers

● Free tutorials on getting started

Staying on top of cutting-edge researchOrganize Your Notes & Articles: Evernote

● An area that you are excited about● Choose a supervisor who is a good fit:




● You can still improve the relationship by:○ Being proactive about open communication○ Making it easy for your supervisor to support you○ Get important agreements in writing○ Always follow up on your end of the deal

● Get support from coworkers and committee members● Practice assertive communication skills (Module 3.1)

○ Assertiveness will solve 90% of your conflicts○ Module 3.3 has tips for really difficult supervisors

If You Cannot Change Your Supervisor...





● Cannot be answered by Yes or No● Used to characterize a situation in depth● Open ended questions (descriptive) start with:

○ What, How, In what way?● Closed-ended questions (Yes/No) start with:

○ Are, Is, Do, Did…?● Closed-ended thesis questions may be risky if the

answer is only interesting if it is a Yes (or No). ● Avoid getting stuck in a high-risk thesis project

What are Open-Ended Research Questions?

● Refine individual chapters by asking open-ended questions to have more depth/details

● Build publication and future research proposals around open-ended questions

● Consider open-ended questions if you need to change thesis topics

If You Already Have a Thesis Topic...



○ Avoid high-risk (yes/no) theses● A topic that can be completed with available resource● Have at least one backup plans


● Most people overestimate how much they can get done in one year

● Do you have the resources you need to complete your thesis?○ Funding○ Equipment○ Access to information○ Guidance/Expertise

● If not, can you find more resources? ○ Collaborators, Coworkers, Others experts in the field

Are Your Goals and Timelines Realistic?



○ Avoid high-risk (yes/no) theses● A Topic that can be completed with available resource● Have at least one backup plan


● Is there a chance that your project is dead-end?● Students who finished first in their class did not waste

time with setbacks:○ They always had a plan to keep moving

● When you have a setback or dead-end, can you turn them into learning experiences?

● How can you check along the way if you are going in the right direction?

● You need to actively manage your thesis to meet long-term milestones and your graduation deadline.

Do You Have a Backup Plan?

{ }3 Developing Action Plans Case Study

1. A Vision or Destination — Determine where do you want to go and why?

2. A Plan — Develop a roadmap to get to your destination.

3. Implementation — Follow through with your plan on schedule.

Three Steps to Turn Any Goal Into Reality

Your Purpose is the Most Powerful MotivatorThis is Your “WHY”

● Why is it important to get your Masters/PhD?● How will your degree support your career

development?● Why is it important for you to finish soon?

○ Family ○ Financial○ Health

Bonus Action Plans Have Are in Module 2

Being clear on why it is important to finish your thesis, will give you the fuel to be motivated, creative, and take action.

The acknowledgements section of a thesis is usually very long - whom could you ask for help?

Include goals for all areas of your professional life (coursework, thesis, career )

Start with the major milestones (exams, committee meetings) and then add more “flexible” milestones such as data collection, analysis, writing papers

Research and life are unpredictable. Most likely you will need to revise the plan every 1-2 months.

● I would like your advice about putting my goals in the planning sheet. I have already disappointed myself so many times by missing my goals. And, thinking in advance for a whole year makes me feel even more overwhelmed! Any thoughts on how to keep this plan realistic?

You can only hit a target if you have one

● Keep your plan as simple as possible to start with● No one reaches 100% of their goals● Your plan will help you to:

○ Clarify what you need to do to finish your thesis○ Get started on milestones 6-12 months in the future○ Keep yourself accountable○ Become more realistic with your planning. Do some of your major

milestones conflict with each other?

Question

How To Follow Through on Your PlansThe Decision Train

FEELINGS ACTIONS DECISIONS

MOST PEOPLE

THE 5%

DECISIONS ACTIONS FEELINGS

“Successful people decide what they are going to do, they take action regardless of how they feel, and as an end result, feel exceptional because they followed through on their commitment.”From: 6 Months to 6 Figures by Peter Voogd

● Revise your long-term plan monthly● Update your short-term plan every week● If you don’t achieve your goals:

○ Where is the learning opportunity?○ How can you make your next plan more

realistic?● Remind yourself of your “Why”● Remember that feelings come after the actions

To Make Sure That You Stay On Track

● Reduce external distractions○ Change work environment○ Turn off phone/email/social media

● Reduce internal distractions○ Keep a notebook to write down ideas○ Music: your own, or try focusatwill.com

To Make Sure That You Stay On Track

{ }4 Plan Your Publicationsin Advance

Many Successful Researchers Plan their Publications Before Collecting Data

Planning your publications in advance helps you to get familiar with the literature, see gaps in your work and

finish your research sooner!

● Clarify your research questions● Collect literature● Organize literature● Get your methods organized● Plan your studies:

○ Experiments○ Surveys○ Field studies

How to Plan Your Publications in Advance

● What is your central hypothesis or research goal?● What is the motivation for this study?● What have other groups contributed to this research?● What methods do you need to complete this project?

○ Do you have everything you need?● What are the possible outcomes of this study?● What will your tables and graphs show?

Questions to Ask While Planning Your Publications

● How does your data compare with data in key papers in the literature?

● If your data is not in agreement with other papers, can you explain it?○ For example are your methods slightly

different?● What are the big picture implications of your

results?

Questions to Ask After Data Has Been Collected

● Always be clear on which section of paper you want to have reviewed

● Mark your questions/notable data so it easy for your supervisor to review

● Summarize your data in tables/figures● If you get stuck, think about possible solutions

prior to your meetings.

Tips to Get Feedback from Supervisor During Writing Papers

● The higher the impact factor (IF) the more the paper will be cited (http://www.scimagojr.com/)

● You can find the IF of most journals online. ● Discuss with supervisor: Is it better to publish

fewer big papers or many small papers? ○ Publish results quickly○ Free access journals get more visibility○ In industry impact factors are not so

important

How to Choose a Journal

● Take a neutral stance - present literature as is● Define scope of article, so you don’t get overwhelmed● Get regular feedback from supervisor during writing● Develop a consistent/comfortable writing schedule● Don’t try to make it too perfect, or try to include everything. ● Ask supervisor coworkers about resources● Organize papers electronically (Evernote, Endnote)● Make sure you comply with journal guidelines● Use tables/figures to summarize data● http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article.aspx?id=15161● http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.

1003149

Tips to Writing Literature Reviews

http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article.aspx?id=15161

http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article.aspx?id=15161

http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149



● Ph.D. Candidate at Jonkoping International Business School in Sweden

● Final stages of Ph.D. thesis review/preparing for defense

● Two job offers for professorships in business management

● Quang will share the process he used to go from rough draft to final thesis

Guest Speaker on April 5th Webinar

Quang Evansluong

THANK YOU

Documents

Finish Your Thesis Program Week 2: Roadmap Module 2 · 29.03.2016 · Organize your data in one place. Aim for simplicity: Google docs (can upload Excel sheets and files in any format)